Abstract: Methods and assays for monitoring the cardiac health of a subject are provided. The method involves the detection of a urotensin surrogate in a sample leading to a more accurate and reliable diagnosis of early or late stages of decompensated heart failure, heart failure, risk of a heart failur in a subject than the measurement of the cyclic peptide of urotensin alone.

Abstract: An automatic document feeder with a drive system that can efficiently handle double-side scanning and accommodate more than one timing sequence for sequentially picking individual sheets from a stack using only two motors—a pick motor and a media motor. The automatic document feeder includes a pickup unit with a pick roller, a set of de-skew rollers, a main media path configured to guide a media sheet from the pickup unit to a scanning region and from the scanning region to an output tray, and a switch-back path configured to guide the media sheet back into the main media path. The drive system is operable to provide a high-speed picking mode and a delayed picking mode. In the high-speed picking mode, the pickup unit is driven by the pick motor to pull a subsequent media sheet from a stack of media sheet as soon as a previously pulled media sheet has passed the pick roller.

Abstract: A sheet discharge roller assembly for a sheet feeding apparatus includes an upper cylindrical exit roller mounted on a rotatable drive shaft and a lower cylindrical pinch roller having a wheel attached to one end. The pinch roller has a length that is longer than the length of the exit roller and is moveable into contact with the exit roller so as to form a nip for gripping a print media to be discharged. The wheel has a diameter that is larger than that of the pinch roller and an outer circumferential edge composed of a plurality of protruding contact portions arranged in a radial pattern. The wheel is positioned so that the wheel can contact the media sheet being gripped and cause the sheet to deform temporarily, thereby making the sheet more rigid.

Abstract: An upper piggybacked unit of a tandem unit is provided with a hinge unit and at least one motion lock to prevent the upper unit from falling away from the lower unit when it is tandemly coupled to the lower unit and the lower unit is pivoted to a non-horizontal position. The motion lock may inhibit rotation and/or translation of the upper unit. The motion lock may also be self-actuating, such as a gravity dependent lock mechanism. A lock override mechanism may be provided to allow the lock to yield to excessive force without causing damage. The lock enable condition may be automatically reset after the override condition so that no special knowledge or action on the part of the user is required to return the hinge to normal operation.

Abstract: A media path control device has two sets of parallel arms with opposing rollers to manipulate the movement of print media. The arms are moveable in a substantially vertical plane through motors. The arms can be of different lengths to establish an optimal trajectory or height of the media to change the trajectory or travel path of the media. The rollers are reversible to change the trajectory or travel path of the media. Rotation of the arms may be stopped at various points along their travel arc to position the media at a desired or plane.

Abstract: A method for screening, diagnosis or prognosis of heart failure in a mammalian subject, for determining the stage or severity of heart failure in a mammalian subject, for identifying a mammalian subject at risk of developing heart failure, or for monitoring the effect of therapy administered to a mammalian subject having heart failure included measuring the level of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in a sample of bodily fluid from the mammalian subject. Methods for monitoring the cardiac health of a mammalian subject are further included. Kits for carrying out such methods are also provided.

Abstract: A method for screening patients for heart failure such as left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) comprises measuring a biomarker and taking an ECG measurement and combining both as factors to obtain a result indicative of the probability of the patient having heart failure. As a result the level of accuracy of the screening is significantly increased. Preferred biomarkers are natriuretic peptides (e.g. ANP, BNP).

Abstract: The invention provides methods and a kit for detecting peptides and proteins, which may be indicative of heart disease by detecting signal peptide levels for a protein in a subject's bodily fluid.

Abstract: A method is provided for scheduling the transmission time of multimedia objects. The method includes dividing the transmission time into frames based on an object decoding rate. The transmission time is further divided within each frame of the multimedia object channel into time slots. The number of time slots is equivalent to dividing the transmission rate by the multimedia object decoding time. A delivery time schedule of multimedia objects is formed with a time stamp within the scheduled object delivery period or frame period. A scheduled object delivery period is computed which is equivalent to the maximum object group delay period allowable. Objects that cannot be delivered within a current time slot are re-scheduled to a later time slot.

Abstract: A high-speed printer is provided. The printer includes a media assembly for supporting a media roll that supplies the sheet of media and also for controlling a flow rate of the sheet of media through the printer. The sheet of media is received by the feedback control system, which is used to detect a slack position of the sheet of media. The slack position is used by the media assembly to determine a flow rate of the sheet of media through the printer. In addition, the printer also includes a roller system for receiving the sheet of material from the feedback control system and to feed the sheet of media to a print carriage.

Abstract: The invention provides methods and a kit for detecting an increased risk of a heart condition in a subject by detecting an increased level of urotensin II in the subject's bodily fluid.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and kit for detecting tissue hypoxia, which is a clinical syndrome indicative of heart disease in a subject, by detecting an increased level of Oxygen Related Protein 150 (ORP150) in a bodily fluid sample from a subject.

Abstract: A method is provided for scheduling the transmission time of multimedia objects. The method includes dividing the transmission time into frames based on an object decoding rate. The transmission time is further divided within each frame of the multimedia object channel into time slots. The number of time slots is equivalent to dividing the transmission rate by the multimedia object decoding time. A delivery time schedule of multimedia objects is formed with a time stamp within the scheduled object delivery period or frame period. A scheduled object delivery period is computed which is equivalent to the maximum object group delay period allowable. Objects that cannot be delivered within a current time slot are re-scheduled to a later time slot.

Abstract: A high-speed printer is provided. The printer includes a media assembly for supporting a media roll that supplies the sheet of media and also for controlling a flow rate of the sheet of media through the printer. The sheet of media is received by the feedback control system, which is used to detect a slack position of the sheet of media. The slack position is used by the media assembly to determine a flow rate of the sheet of media through the printer. In addition, the printer also includes a roller system for receiving the sheet of material from the feedback control system and to feed the sheet of media to a print carriage.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for detecting an increased risk of heart failure in a subject by detecting an increased level of urotensin II in a bodily fluid sample from a subject

Abstract: A system and a method for servicing a printhead using a low-height service station design. The system of the present invention includes a low-height service station having a gear and clutch arrangement that permits a service station drive assembly and a print media feed assembly to use the same motor. By momentarily reversing the motor, the gear and clutch arrangement permits the service station drive assembly to be engaged and the print media feed assembly to be disengaged, or vice versa. Moreover, the gear and clutch arrangement provides a means for a capping platform and a wiping platform within the service station to move independently of each other.

Abstract: A method for storing and organizing multimedia objects by decomposing a multi-level tree structure into a graph map using single-link graph nodes, assigning a name or address to each node in the tree structure in ascending order from a root node to the last leaf node, mapping each node in the tree structure to a single-link graph node having a pointer memory location, and storing the horizontal or vertical coupled graph nodes into a page memory.

Abstract: A system and a method for servicing a printhead using a low-height service station design. The system of the present invention includes a low-height service station having a gear and clutch arrangement that permits a service station drive assembly and a print media feed assembly to use the same motor. By momentarily reversing the motor, the gear and clutch arrangement permits the service station drive assembly to be engaged and the print media feed assembly to be disengaged, or vice versa. Moreover, the gear and clutch arrangement provides a means for a capping platform and a wiping platform within the service station to move independently of each other. The present invention also includes a method for using a single motor to service a printhead assembly and feed a print media through a printer.

Abstract: An encoding process is configurable to trade calculational complexity for bit rate while maintaining code format and image quality. A software encoder which implements the encoding process monitors bandwidth and processor utilization and when either is overtaxed, adjusts complexity to compensate. If further adjustment is required, encoded image quality is changed. Changing the search process or search window size used during searches for predictive blocks or changing a threshold which is compared to inter-code length before determining whether to calculate an intra-code changes complexity. An intra-coding method subtracts a base which depends on codes representing neighboring blocks from coefficients for a current block to determine a difference which is often small and easily compressed. Additionally, restricting a quadtree structure for one color component to a sub-tree of a quadtree structure for another other color component improves compression efficiency and reduces coding complexity.

Abstract: An indexing service station services interchangeable first and second inkjet cartridges when installed with a third inkjet cartridge in a dual-cartridge carriage of an inkjet printing mechanism. For printing graphics and text, the first cartridge usually prints black ink, while the third cartridge prints full-colorant concentrations of colored ink. For printing photographic type images, the black cartridge for printing text is replaced with the second cartridge which is an imaging cartridge. The imaging cartridge carries ink formulations having reduced colorant concentrations, which, when used in conjunction with the full color cartridge, provide near photographic image quality, as well as crisp black text and line art. The service station has three separate sets of servicing tools for independent servicing of the black, full color, and imaging cartridges.